To Be Free!
by SilmeriaKai
Summary: Shunsui finds a young woman who has been badly hurt. Can his best friend help fight away the darkness and bring light into her eyes again? Can he protect her from the demon who did this to her? Can she ever be free? Jushiro will do all he can to help her.
1. Chapter 1

At the sound of a moan, the dark-haired Shinigami stopped and looked down the dark alleyway. Seeing nothing, he ventured down pulling his Zanpakuto as a precaution. Silence filled the alleyway as he slowly walked down it. Suddenly he heard another low moan to his left. He turned and saw somebody on the ground trying to crawl away. He knelt down and saw that it was a young girl. She was bleeding pretty badly and needed help, but it was too far to the Seretei. He decided he should go to his family's home. He tried to pick her up but she tried to get away from him. However, she was so weak that he had no trouble stopping her.

"P…p…please help me." She had trouble speaking with her mouth filling with blood. He picked her up and she gasped in pain and fainted. He flash stepped to his parent's house as quickly as possible. He kicked at the door hoping someone would hear and open it for him, as he did not want to put her down. Lights came on inside the house and he heard voices and footsteps. Relief flooded through him as he heard his older brother's voice coming through the door.

"Who is it? What's wrong?" Masato Kyoraku asked as he opened the door. "Shunsui, what happened? Who is this?"

"Call the doctor now! She is very badly injured." Shunsui said as he swept into his parent's house carrying the girl. His parents came down the stairs at the sound of raised voices. His mother, Airi, hurried to Shunsui's side at the sight of the bloody bundle that was being held in his arms. She quickly took charge of the situation.

"Daichi, call the doctor. Shunsui, take her upstairs and put her in the green bedroom. Masato, call for Hikari. Tell her I need hot water for a bath and clean clothes for her. Poor dear, she must have gone through a lot. Shunsui, do you know what happened to her?" Airi asked.

"I found her in an alleyway like this. She was hurt really badly but still tried to get away from me. I don't know who did this but they were really cruel." Shunsui said as he laid the girl on the bed. His father, Daichi, came in to announce that Hayato, the doctor, was on his way. Masato came in followed closely by Hikari and some other servants carrying hot water to pour into the bathtub in the bathroom.

"Daichi, boys, we will take it from here. I want to clean her up before the doctor comes. Please let him in and let us know when he gets here. She is covered in so much blood he won't be able to see the wounds like this," said Airi. After the men left, she and Hikari gently took the girl's clothes off and took her to the tub. They lowered her in slowly and made soothing sounds when she moaned weakly. Airi gasped, as the blood washed off the wounds, showing such damage she was surprised the girl was even alive. She had been beaten, whipped, tied up, stabbed and possibly raped. She prayed that the last thing hadn't happened to this poor girl. After they gently cleaned her up, they placed her in a light shift and laid her on the bed. They were just in time as Shunsui knocked on the door letting them know the doctor had just arrived. Airi told him to let Hayato to come in and stood to the side as the doctor rushed to the bed.

"How is she doing?" asked Hayato as he started healing the poor girl. He was shocked at the damage. He asked Shunsui to leave the room. He did a quick examination of her wounds, healing as he went. His face kept getting angrier as the examination went on. Finally, he announced that he did what he could but she needed plenty of rest, food and comfort.

"She should make it through but I want to talk to you downstairs." he said. Airi nodded and told Hikari to stay with the girl and let her know immediately if the girl woke up. Then, she followed Hayato downstairs to the sitting room where her family was waiting for the news. She sat down by her husband and held his hand. She knew what the doctor would say.

"Well, how is she? Will she be alright? Do you know who she is?" Masato and Shunsui started talking over each other.

"Boys, you will be quiet and listen. Let Hayato speak. You don't have to bombard him with questions. He is an old family friend, and he should be treated as such. Go ahead, Hayato." Daichi spoke silently but firmly.

"Thank you, Daichi. I have examined her and healed most of her wounds. I took care of the worst injuries but the little ones will heal in time. She will be very scared. It appears that she was beaten and possibly whipped. She has horrible bruises on her wrists, ankles and neck. She was tied up and dragged for a while. She was stabbed in several locations, the worst one was near her neck. An inch higher and she would definitely be dead right now. Regrettably, she was violated and hurt in the worst way possible. Whoever did this to her was just trying to torture her. The extent of the damage is astounding. She will need a lot of patience and protection from you in the next few weeks. If you're lucky, she won't remember anything about tonight. However if she does, you must be calm around her and don't make any sudden movements. She will be very jumpy and terrified. I will try to find out who she is in the meantime. Her red hair and green eyes should narrow it down. I'll locate her family for you. I want all of you to focus all your energy on helping her through this trying time."

"I see. We will do all we can to help her." Airi reassured Hayato. "Shunsui, how did you find her and where? That might help narrow down who she is."

"I was going to the bar in the 5th district to meet up with Jushiro and heard her moaning in an alleyway about 5 blocks from the bar. She wasn't dressed like nobility but her clothes weren't shabby either. She must be middle class I think." Shunsui seemed thoughtful. "I hope that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd hate to think that someone she knew did this to her."

"Mistress Airi, she is waking up! She is waking up!" Hikari shouted excitedly from upstairs. "I'll go make her some tea and broth." She rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Airi and Hayato swiftly got up and went upstairs to see how she was doing. They were shocked to find that she wasn't in bed.

"Shunsui, Masato, Daichi, I need your help. She is missing. Search the whole house and check the yard. She has to be here somewhere." Airi called down the stairs. There was a knock at the door and Hikari opened it to see Jushiro standing there.

"Shunsui, I was worried when you didn't show up. I figured the place to check was here and apparently, I was right. What is going on here?" Jushiro asked with a worried expression on his face. Shunsui grabbed his arm and explained the situation as they climbed the stairs to help with the search for their missing guest. After they assessed the situation, Shunsui sent his parents to search downstairs, his brother and Hikari to search outside while he and Jushiro would search upstairs again. After everyone left, he led the way into the green room, shut the door and settled himself on the floor.

"Well, you can come out now if you want to. I know that Hikari can be quite loud sometimes. She doesn't understand what peace and quiet means." Shunsui spoke in the direction of the bed. Jushiro also sat on the ground to wait. A couple minutes passed before movement was seen under the bed. A pair of startling green eyes peered suspiciously out at the two men. Slowly, the rest of her crawled out and she sat with her back to the bed.

"Do you remember who you are? Do you know how you got here?" Shunsui asked softly. The girl looked at him thoughtfully.

"My name is Akane. You're the one who found me. Is this your house? Who are the two of you?" She had a soft, sweet voice.

"It is my parents' house, my name is Shunsui Kyoraku and this is my best friend Jushiro Ukitake." he smiled at her. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Akane scooted under the bed as fast as she could. The door opened and Airi poked her head in. She exchanged a significant look with her son and then turned to the bed.

"Hello dear, are you feeling better? I am Airi Kyoraku, Shunsui's mother. Welcome to our home. Would you like some broth to ease your stomach? I apologize for Hikari's outburst. She is not known for being quiet. I'll be back with some tea and broth." Airi smiled and left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you hungry? If you are, you should come out now and sit in the bed. You cannot very well eat broth under a bed. At least I do not think so, as I have never tried. But I imagine it would be difficult." smiled Jushiro.

There was rustling under the bed again and Akane's face appeared again. She peered out and, deciding it was safe again, she crawled out from under the bed. She whimpered as she slowly sat up again.

"All this crawling around is not good for your wounds. Let me put you back in bed so you can rest." Shunsui offered her his arm.

She flinched away from him and shook her head. She slowly turned to face the bed and tried to pull herself up by grabbing the bed covers. She got halfway up when, with a cry, she tumbled backward. Jushiro reached out and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Hey now, you can't go around falling like that! You will hurt yourself and then you'll never be allowed out of bed again." Shunsui admonished her. Jushiro gently laid her on the bed. He looked down at her and brushed back her hair from her face. He frowned as she flinched and looked at him with her fear filled eyes.

"Where is your family? Can we contact someone for you?" asked Shunsui as he looked down at her face, which was seemed to pale even more than it was. It seemed almost white next to her bright red hair. She looked around as though hoping to escape.

"I just remember my name is Akane. Everything else is blank. I…I…I don't think I have any family, but I don't remember." she said as she nervously chewed her bottom lip. Jushiro and Shunsui exchanged glances. They were thinking the same thing. She was hiding something. They turned at a knock at the door. Airi entered with a tray with hot broth and tea on it. Hayato followed her into the room.

"How are you feeling? Do you think you can eat some broth?" Airi asked with a smile. She placed the tray on the bedside table. Akane gave a small smile and tried to sit up in bed but sank back against the pillow with a small whimper.

"Be careful, my dear!" frowned Hayato as he moved swiftly to her bedside. He began to examine her quickly. "Where does it hurt the most? Are you feeling dizzy at all?"

"I feel fine. I am not hurting at all and there is no dizziness." Akane lied. Truthfully, she felt like her whole body was screaming in pain and she could barely focus on anyone.

"Don't lie to me!" Hayato said with a stern look on his face. She flinched and tried to shrink back farther into her pillows. With a sad look in his eyes he amended, "I can't help you get better if I don't know how you are really feeling." Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at him.

"I…I'm sorry." she whispered as she blinked away the tears. "I hurt all over and the room keeps spinning around." She looked nervously at him as though expecting a reproach. He smiled at her and she seemed to relax a little.

"It is ok; we want to get you healthy again." Hayato said softly. He gave her some medicine for the pain. "I know you don't want to talk about this: however, it must be done. Do you remember what happened to you and who did it?" Hayato looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"NO! Leave me alone! I don't know what happened or who did it! I don't know who I am, besides Akane and I don't want to talk about it!" Akane yelled. She tried to roll away from him but she hurt too much. She bit her lip to keep from crying right there in front of everyone. She did not want anyone to know her shame. Hayato sighed and got up.

"It's ok; you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. We will not force you to remember. At least you remember your first name. That is a great start in finding your family! I will put the word out and soon we shall have you back with your family again!" He smiled at her and headed to the door.

"NO! NO! NO! You can't find them. Please don't look for them. They can't know where I am." She cried out, frantically reaching for him, though he was too far away. "They can't know I'm here. Oh Lord, please, don't let them find me!" Everyone looked on in horror as she started sitting up. She threw the bed covers off and tried to get up.

"Stop fighting! You are too weak to get up!" Airi held her down easily while Hayato hurried back to the bed.

"NO! Please, Mama, don't let them hurt me! Please!" Akane started screaming and tried to fight them but she was just too weak. She collapsed on the bed whimpering.

"I am going to give you a small sedative. It won't make you fall asleep right away, just calm you down." He said as he injected her in her arm. "You are hurt and need to stay in bed until you heal. I will not have you get worse by trying to get up and run away. I will not tell anyone about you if that is your wish but you must stay in bed and heal your wounds." Akane slowly stopped fighting and started to calm down.

"There, that's better isn't it? Just calm down, you are safe with us here. No one will hurt you in my house!" said Airi forcefully. She looked down at Akane and patted her arm. "We have my son Shunsui and his friend Jushiro Ukitake here. They are both Captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads! They will never let anyone hurt you. You are safe now and no one can harm you here. I promise! Now let's sit you up so you can eat something before you fall asleep, ok?" Airi signaled her son and Jushiro to help her lift Akane into an upright position. Shunsui stacked the pillows up while Jushiro raised her up. Airi set the tray down in front of Akane. However, what little strength she had left was gone after her attempted escape. She tried to pick up the spoon but did not have the energy to bring it to her mouth. Tears prickling at her eyes again but she refused to let them fall.

"Here, let me help you." Airi said as she took the spoon from Akane. Slowly, one spoonful at a time, Airi fed her all of the broth. Then she held the teacup up to Akane's mouth and let her drink from that. Airi wiped Akane's mouth and smiled at her. "All better, I think you should rest now. Can I get you anything?" Akane was so tired and the sedative was really kicking now. She could barely keep her eyes open but she too terrified to close them.

"I'm ok, just tired. You promise you won't tell anyone I am here, right? Don't let them get me! Please!" She gave up the fight to keep her tears in. They poured down her cheeks as she sobbed. "I can't live through it again! I can't! I can't!"

"Shhh. It's ok. No one will get you! Here, let me help you lie down so you can sleep" Jushiro gently lifted her slightly and Shunsui moved the pillows again for her. Jushiro settled her against the pillows and fixed the bed covers for her. As he did so, he caught her eye and smiled at her. She looked so lost and forlorn sitting there, her pale face streaked with tears, making her eyes seem bigger than they should be.

"I swear I will do all that is in my power to keep you safe. Please, believe me when I say that everyone in this house will never betray you, and will fight to keep those who hurt you away." He reached out a hand and brushed the tears away. She squeezed her eyes closed but did not flinch away from his touch. More tears leaked out at his gentleness and he wiped those away too. Then he stood up to leave the room.

"No! Please don't leave me alone! I…I'm scared to sleep. They will come for me while I sleep! They are coming for me." She started sobbing from exhaustion and fear. Jushiro sat down on the edge of the bed. He gently gathered her to him and held her close in his arms. "It's ok to sleep now. I will watch over you. If I have to leave for some reason, Shunsui or his family will stay with you. You are not alone. Shhh. It's ok now." He tenderly ran his fingers through her hair and rocked her. Her sobbing quieted down and she drifted off into sweet darkness.


End file.
